wisted roving is performed by the
traveller lagging behind the bobbin in speed, to a degree equal to the
delivery of roving by the rollers. It will be remembered that in the old
flyer-throstle "winding-on" was performed by the bobbin lagging behind
the spindle, a procedure which is impossible on the ring frame.

There is also an arrangement of the mechanism for guiding and shaping
the yarn upon the bobbins in suitable form, the action being as nearly
as possible an imitation of the mule.

For a number of years after the introduction of these frames, it was
found that the threads often broke down owing to the twist not extending
through the roving to the point where it issued from the rollers. This
was eventually remedied by placing the drawing rollers in a different
position, thus causing the thread running from the rollers to the
traveller to approach more to the vertical; this constituting the
modification which has just been referred to previously.

Another difficulty was experienced in the fact that during spinning the
threads would sometimes fly outwards to such an extent that adjacent
threads came in contact with each other, causing excessive breakage.
This was technically termed "ballooning," and has been very
satisfactorily restricted by the invention of special apparatus.

At the present time, therefore, a contest between the two rival systems
of continuous spinning which were in bitter antagonism over a century
ago, is waging a more fiercely contested fight than at any previous
time.

As the case stands to-day, the mule is retained for nearly all the best
and finest yarns as yet found; the most suitable for them, just as it
was when Crompton got 25s. per pound for spinning fine muslin yarns on
his first mule.

In many cases, also, yarn is specially required to be spun upon the bare
spindle as on a mule, as for instance when used as weft and put into the
shuttle of a loom. It is probably the very greatest defect of the ring
frame that it can only, with great difficulty, be made to form a good
cop of yarn on the bare spindle, although thousands of pounds have been
spent on experimenting in that direction. How soon it may be
accomplished with commercial success cannot be known, as a great number
of individuals are constantly working in that direction. If it does come
about, there can be no doubt that the ring frame will receive a still
further impetus.

Even now, for medium counts of yarn it is much more